News Release Archive

Construction Complete on Wickiup Dam

Media Contact: Larry Wolf , (208) 378-5220

For Release: December 08, 2003

The Bureau of Reclamation completed a major Safety of Dams modification project at Wickiup Dam, located on the upper Deschutes River approximately 40 miles southwest of Bend, Oregon.

The safety modification project consisted of treating a portion of the foundation at the toe of the dam with a technique called jet grouting which was successfully tested at Wickiup Dam in December 1999.

Hayward Baker of Santa Paula, California, was awarded a $23 million construction contract in July 2001. Hayward Baker installed stability berms and new drainage features as part of the modifications necessary to upgrade the dam to current earthquake safety standards.

Over 850 jet grout columns were installed, measuring 14 feet in diameter, which will strengthen 200,000 cubic yards of foundation material. The contractor also constructed stability berms consisting of nearly 650,000 cubic yards of rock and soil materials. A new drainage system was also installed along the dam toe.

Repairs to Wickiup Dam are part of Reclamation's Safety of Dams program, which examines and evaluates the structural integrity of its dams and identifies potential public safety risks.

Actual project cost was around $38.5 million, about $5.5 million under initial estimates. Total project cost includes the design costs, construction management, investigations and other Safety of Dams activities, as well as actual construction work.

Wickiup Dam is part of the Deschutes Project, which provides 200,000 acre-feet of storage for irrigation to 50,000 acres within the North Unit Irrigation District near Madras, Oregon. North Unit Irrigation District operates and maintains the dam, which is owned by Reclamation.

Safety modifications to the dam are authorized under the Reclamation Safety of Dams Act of 1978, as amended in 1984. According to the 1984 amendments to the Act, water users are required to repay 15 percent of the construction costs.

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